


Where Souls Meet

by ReaganJenelle



Category: Fullmetal Alchemist - All Media Types, Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood & Manga
Genre: Aged-Up Character(s), Alphonse Elric And Cats, Character Death, Ed Swears, Edward Elric Swears, Eventual Romance, F/M, Fluff and Angst, Original Character(s), Other Additional Tags to Be Added
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-03-28
Updated: 2018-03-26
Packaged: 2019-04-08 06:30:38
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,862
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14099322
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ReaganJenelle/pseuds/ReaganJenelle
Summary: Gwenyth, Gwen, Fang left her small town in search of a better life. With intentions to join the military, she never expected that meeting a suit of armor would change everything.





	Where Souls Meet

**Author's Note:**

> Hey everyone! So, I wanted to show one of my favorite FMA characters so of the attention he deserves. A few of the characters have been aged up so that I feel less sleazy when writing this.  
> Ages:  
> Ed- 17  
> Al- 16  
> Gwen (my OC)- 17  
> Winry- 17

Today was not my day.

Central was somehow bigger than I remembered. The last time I had been here I was nine and my dad had brought me along after a lot of begging and false tears. The streets had been full of lively people and shops that sold nearly anything you could imagine. I can remember being amazed by the different street vendors selling pretty clothes. 

But this time I kept my eyes trained on the ground in front of me. It felt crowded, dirty, and the air smells like too many people packed into one space. Hopefully, it wouldn't take long to get used to it. I was finally seventeen and old enough to join the military. My dad would have been against it, but then I don't think he would have wanted to die and leave me alone when he did. I had no special skills, didn't understand enough about alchemy to even consider trying to make a living off it, and no desire to get married so young. Not that I'd had any offers. The military was my only option and I was learning come to terms with it. Maybe I'd get lucky and they'd stick me with a desk job. Worst case scenario I'd end up stationed somewhere in the South because of the border dispute.

The walk from the train station was taking longer than I realized it would, and a light rain began to fall before quickly turning into a down poor. I grumbled to myself, trying to find shelter. It had been sunny this morning when I Pixis so I hadn't even considered wearing a coat. Ducking my head, I stepped under the nearest awning. I noticed a suit of armor resting on the step next to me out of the corner of my eye. The shining wet metal was dented a scratched as though whoever owned it had seen more than a few tough fights. I found myself admiring the craftsmanship that went into it. It seemed like a shame that it left out in the rain. Sitting down next to it, I turned my attention to wringing out my chestnut colored hair.

"You got caught in the rain, too?" A young voice asked next to me.

I jumped at the unexpected sound and looked at the suit of armor, startled.

The armor shifted towards me and rubbed the back of its helmet. "I didn't mean to scare you."

I cleared my throat and gave him a small smile. "It's alright, I just wasn't expecting there to be anyone in there."

A beat of silence passed between us and I couldn't help but wonder my someone would wear battle armor around Central. "I'm Alphonse. You can call me Al. It's nice to meet you."I found that I much preferred Alphonse to Al. It seemed to suit him.

"It's nice to meet you, too, Alphonse. I'm Gwenyth or Gwen for short." I held out my hand, deciding to forgo mentioning the fact that I found his armor odd.

He shook it with a pleased air about him. "Gwen. That's a pretty name."

"Thanks."

"So how did you get caught in the rain?" He gestured to the downpour.

 "I just arrived today. Didn't know I'd need an umbrella." I shrugged slightly, pushing my sopping bangs off my forehead. "What about you? That armor not keeping you dry?"

"Oh, uh, not really." He replied with a nervous laugh. After another bought of silence, Alphonse spoke. "What brings you to Central?"

I fiddled with the hem of my soaked shirt. It was one of my favorites. Hopefully, I would be able to find somewhere to clean it. "I plan on joining the military."

Alphonse shifted to face me a little better. "Really? Why?"

This seemed to be the reaction that most people had when I told them. It was beyond irritating. Although it wasn't uncommon of for women to join the military, most still found it odd. When Fuer King Bradley came to power and the state became more militarized, gender roles began to change. Women could now join the armed forces. This led to a string of opportunities for the fairer gender. It became common practice for a woman to open her own shop, build automail, and even train to become doctors. but for some reason in the past thirty years, the idea of a woman on the battlefield is still largely frowned upon. 

There was something about the way Alphonse asked that didn't seem condescending but instead rang with genuine curiosity. "Oh, uh, well..." I paused, wondering why I felt the need to be honest with a complete stranger. Not just any stranger, but on that felt the need to be in full body armor. "I don't really have many options."

"I don't think you should join." When he noticed my raised eyebrow he hastily continued. "It just that I sure there has to be something you would rather do! It just doesn't seem like you _want_ to go into the military."

I couldn't help it. I laughed. This day had definitely taken a turn for something odd, if not slightly pleasant. "Then what do you suggest?"

Alphonse looked thoughtful, or at least as thoughtful as he could with his face covered. "What do you like to do?"

I had to think about this. It had been a while since I had been able to let myself do anything I really enjoyed. When dad died, I found myself scraping to make ends meet. There was no longer enough time for me to just enjoy the day to day things. When I had turned twelve, I had managed to find a job as a midwife. I'd fetch towels and hot water for the older woman, but the work had been consuming. At the end of the day, it was worth the sore feet and aching back. I made enough to get by. But as I got older, the idea of spending the rest of my life surrounded by labor had seemed... dull. Which was not to say that I wanted the life of a soldier. It just seemed better than scraping by in a town where people cared enough to send me looks of sympathy, but never actually try to help. 

"I enjoy reading, I suppose."

"Let's see..." Alphonse murmured to himself. "Oh, I know. Why don't you become a scholar?"

"A scholar?" I questioned skeptically. 

He shrugged. "Why not? You like reading. Why not pick a topic you enjoy and study it?"

I drew my eyebrows together. "Why are you helping me?"

Al tilted his head to the side. "Why wouldn't I help you?"

Before I could respond, a shout sounded nearby. "Al!"

"Someone's looking for you, Alphonse."

"That's Ed, my older brother." 

I nodded as a figure rounded the corner and spotted us. The figure, Ed, made a beeline for us. The first thing I noticed was the obvious size difference between Alphonse and his brother. Even sitting down, I could tell Alphonse was much taller than Ed. The next thing I noticed was the golden hair that shown like a halo around Ed's face. His eyes, which were focused on his brother, were just as striking as his hair. Lastly, I realized Alphonse had said 'older'. Ed looked to be around my age. I furrowed my eyebrows slightly. If Alphonse was younger than Ed, exactly how old was he? And how was he so tall? Either he had some scary good genes, or Ed had drawn the short stick when it came to the height in his family. 

"Where've you been, Al? We were supposed to meet up at the library an hour ago." Ed said.

Alphonse ducked his head sheepishly. "Sorry, brother. I lost track of time."

Ed rolled his eyes at his brother before seeming to notice me for the first time. "Who's this?"

"Oh!" Alphonse exclaimed. "This is Gwenyth. We were taking shelter from the rain here."

I offered a polite smile. "Call me Gwen."

"Nice to meet you, I'm Ed." He said equally as polite before looking between Alphonse and I. "So you two decided to take shelter... together?"

My face flushed slightly at the sly look Ed was giving his brother. "What- Oh, no, that's not it at All!" Alphonse protested, waving his arms in front of him. "You see, Gwenyth just happened to take shelter her with me!"

Ed's grin grew. "Sure, whatever you say, Al."

I cleared my throat and stood. "Well, I better get going..." I reached for my suitcase only to realize it wasn't there. "Shit."

"What's wrong?" Alphonse asked.

"I forgot my things at the train station." I shut my eyes in frustration. 

"Well, it's closed now." Ed stated.

"Why don't you come with us?" Alphonse proposed kindly.

I blinked and said, "What?

At the same time, Ed exclaimed, "What?!"

"Think about it, brother. She left all of her things at the train station and can't get any of it until tomorrow." Al reasoned. "We can't just leave her out here in the rain."

Ed sighed in irritation. "When I told you to stong bringing home stray cats, I didn't mean for you to start bringing home stray  _people_."

"No, it's fine." I told them, slightly offended by they way Ed referring to me as a 'stray', human or otherwise. "I'll find somewhere to stay."

In all honesty, I wasn't comfortable going home with two people whom I had just met. The only thing I really knew about them was that Alphonse liked cats and wore armor, and Ed was apparently the older, although shorter, of the two. 

"Yeah, Al." Ed said. "She can just stay in a hotel."

Alphonse tilted his head down. "Then we can at least help her find a nice one."

Ed rolled his eyes but shrugged carelessly. "Alright." Turning to me he asked, "So what kind of budget are we working with here?"

I rubbed my arm, suddenly self-conscious. "I wasn't planning on staying in a hotel."

"Do you have someone to stay with?" Alphonse asked.

"Er, no."

"Then what exactly what you planning on doing?" Ed asked with his eyebrow raised. "Sleeping on the streets?"

When I looked down at my feet, Alphonse made a noise of distress. "You can't sleep out here! Brother, now we have to help her."

"I hate to admit it, Al, but you're right. Okay, Gwen. You're coming with us until we can get your thing back." Ed declared.

I shook my head. "No, really, it's fine."

Ed scoffed. "Don't be an idiot. Besides, when my brother sets his mind to something, there's no stopping him."

Alphonse stood, his armor creaking slightly with the movement. "Come on, Gwen. Let's go home."

I ran my fingers through my wet hair and sighed. It would be nice to sleep in a real bed after two days of sleeping in uncomfortable train chairs. "Alright, but only until we get my stuff tomorrow."

 

At the time I had no idea what I was getting myself into. Later, when I would look back on it, I knew this was the moment that changed my life completely.


End file.
